Pierre-Hugues Verdier is E. James Kelly, Jr.- Class 1965 Research Professor at at the University of Virginia and Nomura Visiting Professor of International Financial Systems, Spring 2017. He specializes in international law, financial regulation and the role of law in international economic relations. Prior to his appointment at the University of Virginia, Professor Verdier was a law clerk for the Supreme Court of Canada and practiced corporate and financial law with Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP in New York City. He was also affiliated with the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs at Harvard University and taught at Boston University School of Law. A Canadian citizen, Professor Verdier holds BCL and LLB degrees from the Faculty of Law at McGill University and LLM and SJD degrees from Harvard Law School. He is one of five Canadians to have been awarded the Hague Academy of International Law’s Diploma in Public International Law.

Experience as a Trudeau Scholar

Since its beginnings a few short years ago, the Trudeau Foundation has created a lively community of academics, policy-makers and artists who share a common commitment to fostering the role of sophisticated policy debate in the Canadian public sphere. The Trudeau Scholarship is, therefore, not only a source of material support for doctoral studies, but first and foremost an opportunity to join this community of ideas, breaking down traditional barriers both within academia itself and between research and policy-making. As a lawyer, I have benefited enormously from the numerous discussions with philosophers, economists, historians and scientists associated with the Foundation, in a cooperative and relaxed intellectual environment that has few equivalents. Thanks to the Foundation’s emphasis on broad dissemination of ideas, I have been able to travel widely, present and publish my research internationally, and create multiple networks in my areas of specialization. The Scholarship thus played a major role in my transition from a practicing lawyer to an active participant in what I believe are timely and crucially important debates on international law and economic governance. In sum, it has been an honour and a great privilege to be associated with the Foundation over the past three years.